Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Nevada Board Examines ALE Options

Nevada District Schools are looking at installing an Alternative Learning Education system.

Nevada High Principal Hardy Herrington told the school board, at its regular monthly meeting Thursday night, the ALE program is mandatory in all schools. Nevada, he said, had been in a consortium with the Hope school district, but the grant was phased out for the program. Hope offered to continue the arrangement with Nevada for $11,000 per year _ whether any students were sent to Hope or not.

The proposed ALE plan will include alternative learning with in school suspension (ISS). It is based on the premise all students can learn, but not all students learn in the same fashion. The ALE will allow students to discover how they learn best, and take this back to the regular classroom.

The program will be placed in the current ISS classroom in the elementary wing of the school, putting both programs together. Students placed in ISS-ALE will work under high expectations. They are required to do all of their school work to the best of their abilities, with tutors available to help.

Before a child is placed in either ISS or ALE, their parents will be notified. Should they choose, the parents can sit in on the exit conference which will transfer the child(ren) to the alternate system.

According to the proposed plan, students sent to ISS are sent because of committing flagrant violations or repeated misdemeanor offenses of school policy. The initial assignment to ISS can be from 1-10 days, depending on their behavior. Their stay can be shortened or extended, also depending on how they act in ISS.

However, if a student persists in misbehaving in ISS, they can be suspended from school for five days. Once suspended, ISS is no longer an option for that student.

There are three rules students in ISS must follow: no talking; stay seated; and raise hand to ask for permission.

Students in ISS are not allowed to attend school functions or participate in any extra-curricular activities.

The ALE school has the same three rules as ISS. Students, though, are sent to the ALE program for different reasons. They can be assigned to the program by a principal, teacher recommendation, parental recommendation or student applications.

With the exception of a principal sending a student to ALE, the student in question must be approved by a placement committee, composed of a principal, counselor, ALE teacher and two of the student's classroom teachers.

A student may be placed in ALE under doctors orders or a court order, along with request from the student, their instructors or parents. Each case is evaluated individually to insure no student is placed in the program unnecessarily.

Students in ALE will be there depending on their needs. Each student will have an individualized plan, and will be evaluated regularly by a committee. The student will also be required to set goals which will help in the return to the regular classroom setting.

To get out of the ALE program, the student must have completed their plan and be ready to return to the regular classroom. They will be required to complete an exit packet and appear before the exit committee as well.

However, if a student becomes a problem in ALE, they will be returned to the regular classroom and ALE will no longer be an option for them. Those students in ISS-ALE will be given regular assignments by their regular teachers on a weekly basis. This is done to help the student follow, as closely as possible, the regular schedule. Lessons, in some cases, will be modified for the student.

There will also be a number of activities for students in ISS-ALE, which are designed to enhance student performance academically and socially.

These activities will focus on communication, conflict resolution, staying on task in the classroom and teamwork among others.

Herrington said a team will travel to Mountainburg and study its alternative plan, as it was the first district in the state to develop one. "All situations are not the same," he told the board. "When we're done, we'll have a model program."

Herrington said the main expense will be the instructor's salary. Other expenses will be utilities, the room and some materials. However, he said he is in the process of writing a grant to help with the materials needed.

The ISS-ALE programs, he said, can also help those who have dropped out of school earn their general equivalency degrees (GEDs).

Superintendent Rick McAfee said the program is designed to help those who don't fit into the normal classroom setting, but is not a punitive program. "I feel this is a positive program," he said. "It will help those students who don't fit into traditional programs, with individual instruction. It's the best of all worlds for the student. They can stay focused and don't have to impress their friends."

Transportation director Jim Cross bore the bad news for the board. He said the air conditioning system is eight years old and beginning to show its age. He and his workers have had to replace six compressors so far this year. "We're not alone," he told the panel. "Other schools have the same problem."